I'm of mixed emotion on this. I want to think that Boeing has turned the corner on their problems, but their corporate culture was not good, they were ate up with DEI, I believes that caused part of their problems when you took the engineers out of top management and replaced them with finance guys, the focus changes, I recall when Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged the clash of corporate culture In 2020, Quartz reported that after the merger there was a "clash of corporate cultures, where Boeing's engineers and McDonnell Douglas's bean-counters went head-to-head", which the latter won, and that this may have contributed to the events leading up to the 737 MAX crash crisis.[22]. (I clipped a snippet from wiki)
I do know that Boeing builds good planes, I have worked on a lot of them, the B757 is my favorite. and I thought a huge mistake was not pursuing a replacement for the 757 or upgrading the 757 because there is nothing that does what that plane does but I digress.
I don't know enough about Navy procurement to really give an educated opinion, I do know that Northrop/Grumman has a really good reputation so I wonder what happened, was something wrong, was the boeing proposal and design better? or where intangibles.
Boeing has won the race to develop the next U.S. Navy carrier-based combat aircraft less than 18 months after the company got the nod to build the F-47 for the U.S. Air Force.
The Navy’s Sept. 29 announcement cements Boeing’s position as the developer of the next generation of U.S. tactical combat aircraft, completing a turnaround less than a decade after some feared the company’s historic fighter production center in St. Louis would end with the demise of the production for the F/A-18E/F and F-15E.
The Navy, in an announcement, said the contract is valued at more than $20 billion for the full-scale development phase, covering multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems and weapons integration testing.
Boeing beat out a rival offer from Northrop Grumman in the F/A-XX competition. Northrop had high hopes for the program as it looked to regain the role as fighter aircraft prime contractor.
“The F/A-XX is a critical pillar in our commitment to maintaining peace through strength. F/A-XX will dominate contested airspace, extend operational reach, and deliver a decisive combat advantage for the warfighter,” said Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. “The F/A-XX platform represents a crucial, non-negotiable investment in America’s national security and long-term air combat capabilities.”
The Navy expects the F/A-XX to perform multiple duties in the carrier air wing, replacing the Boeing F/A-18E/F fighter and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft beginning in the 2030s. The new fighter’s primary task would be long-range strike in the most heavily defended airspace. It would also play a role in defending the carrier from air and missile attacks.
“Backed by decades of work, bolstered by game-changing innovations and solidified by the investments we've made in new facilities uniquely suited to build multiple products with next-generation capabilities, our dedicated and talented team is ready to execute this critical program,” Steve Parker, Boeing Defense Space & Security CEO, said in the announcement.
The company declined to provide additional details on its design, saying technical and programmatic specifics are classified.
Some Pentagon officials had expressed concern that Boeing could not handle two major fighter development programs at once. But the company, in a statement, said delivering both the F-47 and F/A-XX was always its plan and backed by substantial investment in its air dominance production facilities for the competitions.
“We are ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs," Parker says.
Engine maker GE Aerospace, in a statement, said “We’re excited to see this important program advance.” It issued a similar statement after Boeing secured the F-47 program.
Northrop Grumman acknowledged the announcement and said it had put forward “a highly survivable, digitally advanced sixth-generation fighter.” The company, which can challenge the outcome, said “We look forward to receiving additional information about their selection.”
The award was announced shortly before the end of the fiscal year when funding added to the Pentagon's account for the program was due to expire. Congress provided $972 million in F/A-XX research and development funding in the fiscal 2026 defense appropriations bill earmarked for awarding an engineering and manufacturing development contract to a single vendor and to support an accelerated initial operational capability.
The Navy has long awaited the award, providing Pentagon leadership with its input well ahead of the announcement. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle has lamented the extended delay in awarding the F/A-XX contract, saying in August the slowed timeline was putting more pressure on F/A-18 sustainment and requiring the F-35 program to improve its performance to bridge the gap until the sixth-generation fighter arrives.
The new fighter will be a cornerstone of a modernized carrier air wing, which is also expected to feature the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray, an uncrewed multirole refueling aircraft, and a future fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
The service previously said the F/A-XX design will rely on a derivative of an existing fighter engine, foregoing a new class of adaptive propulsion systems in development by the U.S. Air Force.
The U.S. Navy, the same day, awarded Boeing a $16.7 million contract to plan and prepare the shutdown of the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Growler production lines.
The Air Force, on Sept. 29, said it awarded Boeing a production contract for more F-15EX fighters.
